The AFL Awards ceremony has taken place, naming Nick Daicos as the Champion Player of the Year and Leigh Matthews Trophy for Most Valuable Player winner, while Jagga Smith was awarded the Rising Star award. The All Australian team is also to be unveiled tonight, but specific details have not yet been revealed. Key numbers mentioned in the article include Charlie Curnow's win of the Coleman Medal and Harry Dean's runner-up finish in the Rising Star award. The article provides a play-by-play account of the awards ceremony, with commentary on the winners' performances throughout the season.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-25,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
The AFL's All Australian team of 2026 will be unveiled at its official awards night, alongside the crowning of the Rising Star and the league's MVP.
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team → unveil → Star
Tonight's awards and winners
- Coaches Association Best Emerging Player - Max Hall and Murphy Reid
- Coaches Association Defensive Player of the Year - Callum Wilkie
- Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year - Nick Daicos
- Coleman Medal - Charlie Curnow
- AFLPA Best Captain - Jordan Dawson
- AFLPA Best First Year Player - Harry Dean
- Robert Rose Most Courageous Player Award - Jordan Dawson
- Leigh Matthews Trophy for Most Valuable Player - Nick Daicos
- Rising Star - Jagga Smith
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All Australian defenders are named
BP: W. Milera (ADEL) FB: C. Wilkie (StK) BP: J. Impey (Haw)
HBF: L. Ash (GWS) CHB: H. Andrews (Bris) HBF: J. Clark (Frem)
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defenders → choose → filters
We've got three first-timers in the back six, with Milera, Impey and Ash all earning their first blazers.
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Milera → get → blazers
Wilkie and Clark now have a couple, and Andrews has plenty.
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Andrews → have → plenty
Time for the All Australian team to be named
Right, so that's that for tonight's individual awards.
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that → name → awards
Now we are going to be handing out some jackets to some All Australians.
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we → go → Australians
We are going to do it line by line.
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We → go → line
Jagga was the number three pick in the 2024 draft, and had he not blown out his ACL in preseason last year he may well have won the last Rising Star.
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he → blow → Star
But forced to wait another 12 months, Smith hit 2026 like a bat out of hell.
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Smith → force → hell
What looked like a tight race for most of the year became a foregone conclusion by the end of the season.
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looked → look → season
Smith just got better and better and better, and by the end was a comfortable winner.
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Smith → get → end
He finished on top ahead of Dean in second, Duursma in third, Cooper Trembath in fourth and Jobe Shanahan fifth.
Leigh Matthews Trophy for Most Valuable Player
The final three for this one are Nick Daicos, Marcus Bontempelli and Jordan Dawson.
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three → finish → one
The winner, as you might have expected, is Nick Daicos.
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you → expect → ?
Another ticked off by Nick.
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Another → tick → Nick
In his speeches he is playing things relatively straight, keeping the focus on Friday night and a wildcard clash at the MCG against the Western Bulldogs.
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he → play → Bulldogs
I guess you could say Dawson has both in spades.
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Dawson → guess → spades
Tough as a player, physically and mentally, I'm sure part of this award is in recognition of the tragedy he and his family have gone through this year with the death of his brother.
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he → go → brother
It's a range of emotions and they come at different times.
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they → come → times
For me it's about creating safe spaces in the footy club and at home, and at understanding there will be times when it's hard to go to work and that it is OK to feel a certain type of way.
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it → create → way
It's still raw, it's always going to be hard to talk about.
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it → go → ?
I'm so lucky I have such supportive people around me.
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I → have → me
With a quiver in his lip, Jordan Dawson continues:
"The mental health space is something new to me, but something I want to learn more about.
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I → continue → more
I want everyone to know who is struggling with their mental health that you are definitely loved and that the world is a better place with you in it.
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world → want → it
We all love you, you have friends and family around you."
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you → love → you
For a first-year key defender to step into such a challenging position and to perform as he did for an entire season is quite remarkable.
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he → step → season
Following in his old man's footsteps, it's not hard to imagine Dean racking up All Australian jackets over the course of the next decade.
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Dean → follow → decade
Now we're into the player-voted awards.
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we → vote → awards
Long been highly respected as a footballer and as a leader, Dawson had to wrestle some significant personal trauma throughout 2026.
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Dawson → have → 2026
To do it with such class and strength saw him rise even higher in the eyes of his peers.
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him → see → peers
Charlie Curnow not present to receive Coleman Medal
Charlie Curnow is not in the building tonight, but he suited up for a pre-prepared video message in Sydney which is played to celebrate his Coleman Medal.
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which → receive → Medal
With 69 goals, Curnow finished six clear of Brisbane's Logan Morris.
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Curnow → finish → Morris
This is his third Coleman, the first two won during his time with Carlton.
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two → win → Carlton
This is the first of many awards Nick Daicos is going to pick up over the next few weeks.
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Daicos → go → weeks
He is an incredible player who has had an incredible season.
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who → have → season
This one is also voted on weekly by the coaches after each game.
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one → vote → game
Wilkie has very quickly become the game's preeminent defender and is a deserving inaugural winner of this new award.
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Wilkie → become → award
Though, typically humble, he spins it another way...
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he → spin → it
"I've set a good precedent.
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I → set → precedent
I don't actually do any defending, I just drop off and intercept."
Coaches Association Best Emerging Player
Right, the first award of the night is up.
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award → do → night
This one goes to the player in his first two seasons who accrued the most coach's votes throughout the season.
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who → go → season
…and 31 more, not listed.
